Cairo – The president of the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, Salim Taufic Schahin, is going to head the establishment of a Brazil-Egypt Business council. The invitation was extended to him during a meeting between the Brazilian minister of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade, Miguel Jorge, and representatives of the Egyptian General Authority for Investment (GAFI) in Cairo on this Wednesday (14th).
Jorge is heading a business mission to the Middle East comprising the Arab Brazilian Chamber’s president, and director Mustapha Abdouni. The Chamber is one of the organizations supporting the trip, which was organized by the Brazilian Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade.
The idea is for the two governments, Brazilian and Egyptian, to appoint businessmen for heading the council. The Arab Brazilian Chamber is going to work for this to take place, as agreed upon during the meeting, held at the Semiramis Intercontinental Hotel, where the Brazilian delegation is staying.
The GAFI already has a memorandum of understanding with the Brazilian Export and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex), which is linked to the Brazilian Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade. The talk with Jorge and other authorities, such as the Brazilian ambassador to Cairo, Cesário Melantonio Neto, was geared towards exchange of ideas and planning.
The work of the Arab Brazilian Chamber, by the way, was pointed out not only during this meeting, but also in the ones held with Egyptian ministers. Melantonio and Jorge praised the organization’s work in establishing closer ties between Brazil and the Arab world to the Egyptian authorities. According to Salim, thus far, the mission, which also travelled to Iran and will go to Lebanon, has yielded important results.
He underscored the interest of Egyptian ministers in the Brazilian experience with privatizations, and stated that companies from Brazil might take part in this process. The Egyptian ministers, by the way, talked a lot about cooperation with Brazil. “The ministers to whom we spoke are all very active and are seeking partnership,” said Schahin. According to the Arab Brazilian Chamber’s president, Egypt is a very important country in the Arab world, with roughly 75 million citizens, and Brazil has a lot to contribute to its development. “All Brazilian experience is welcome,” he claimed.
The mission of the Ministry of Development started on Sunday, in Iran, and ends on Friday (16th) in Lebanon. In addition to the Arab Brazilian Chamber, the mission counts on support from the Ministry of Foreign Relations, the Apex and the Brazil-Iran Chamber of Commerce.
*The journalist travelled by invitation of the Brazilian Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade. Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
